Second assignment

Well, the time has come for me to submit my images for the second assignment. I did things a little differently this time. For my last assignment I waited until I had completed all of the exercises before I took the images for the first assignment, this resulted in a rather rushed finish and I have to say I was not happy with some of the images.

This time I took out the assignment sheet every time I went out taking pictures and I took extra images to cover the final assignment. I hope that this has given better results. For the final images I chose Street Detail as the subject, I also added a few more images to the assignment where I was unable to get an image that I could fit into the various sections.

All my images have now come back from the printers and I have a little happier with the results than I was with my first set of images for assignment 1.

Single Point Dominating the Composition.

This image was taken at the end of Brockham High Street. Not a busy inner city High Street but still a High Street. I saw the red post box attached to the telegraph pole and I thought that it stood out well. Your eye is drawn to it straight away. I contemplated cropping more of the field out above the post box but I liked the ploughed field. It gave a simple, uncluttered back ground to the top of the box.

First Image

Nikon D3s F6.3, iso 200, 1/15

Two Points

My next Image was taken in Winchester High Street. I had spent some time earlier taking images of street entertainers but I could not get two points of interest in the shot. After 4 hours I was freezing and I decided that it was just not my day. As I walked back to the car I saw this poor lad begging in the street outside a supermarket. He looked freezing seconds later the young lady appeared and as luck would have it she stood right next to him.

Not only did I have two great points but the contrast between the poor guy with little or even nothing and the girl in the warm coat laden with bags of food was a photo that I did not want to miss. I zoomed in close and got them at either side of the frame. After the image arrived back I have to say I was pleased with the results.

Second Image

Nikon D3s F6.3, iso 200, 1/1

Several Points

The next images required me to take shots of several points in a deliberate shape. I had a bit of difficulty with this section so I decided to take two different photographs. The first was of a stone wall on the side of a High Street Bank.

The wall was made up of small flint like stones with large stone blocks placed in the wall at regular intervals. I captured a section of the wall where four stone blocks made up a square, although the ends were not exactly vertical.

A few day later I was taking pictures in an urban Park in Sussex. Not really a Street image but I liked the way that the first four trees planted along the edge of the beginning of the path also made up another square. It may have been better if these were the only trees although the first 4 are slightly darker, which I hope makes them stand out better.

Third Images

Nikon D3s F14, 1/60 iso 500

I don’t know if I have hit the spot with these two, I suppose I will have to wait and see.

Vertical and Horizontal Lines

The next test was to get an image showing horizontal and vertical lines. For this image I chose this shot of the side of an office block. Although there is one slight curve the image is made up of a selection of vertical and horizontal lines. I also like the colour of the glass against the steel frames.The glass also reflects the lights.

Fourth Image

Nikon D3s F7.1 iso 200 1/200

Diagonals

The next image was to shot Diagonals. Again this was another section that I had a bit of trouble with. After a bit of research on the net and in a photography magazine I realised how I should go about getting this shot.

On a trip to Worthing beach I saw this shelter although it was in poor condition it did have great diagonal lines. Is this what was required?

Fifth Image

Nikon D3s f5.6, iso 320, 1/60

Curves

The next section was curves. I had great fun looking around the High Street looking for these and I soon realised that there were a number of them. The challenge was to get the best ones. I looked at a shop window display for the first one and I found a set of very expensive headphones.

I just loved the way that the green plastic curved around the ear.

Sixth Images

Nikon D3s f5.6 iso 1600 1/100

This was a hard shot as I kept getting caught in the reflection of the glass shop window. But in the end I did like the result. For my second curves shot I went into a shop after I saw this great set of steps. Both the hand rails and the wall curve round; there is even a curved shadow.

In the first shot I took I cut out the dummy but I decided that I liked it so I took a further set of images with it in. Maybe I should have taken the image from a slightly different angle to clean up the top right hand corner?

Nikon D3s f40, iso 1600, 1/30

I did like these images, you can see why curse are so attractive in an image.

Distinct Shapes

The next image I had to find had to show distinct if irregular shapes. This was another section that I had to read again and again until I got to understand what was required. I spoke to a few people on-line with the OCA and gat a few good pointers.

I found this pile of trees that the council had just cut down. Each log has been cut leaving a nice circle at the end, each of the circles are of a different size. I liked the image when I got it back but I don’t know if it will meet the standard. I may look at this section again.

Seventh Image

Nikon D3s f5.6 iso 200 1/25

Implied Triangle

This was another section that I really enjoyed. Once I started looking I found Triangles ever where, trees, buildings etc. The first image I chose was of three manikins’ in a shop. They were in a High Street clothes shop. I liked the shape that they formed. But try as much as I did I could not remove the reflection. I did like the resulting image but there is a stripe across the top. I tried to remove it but I couldn’t.

Eighth Images

Nikon D3s f5.6 iso 160 1/125

The next image I found was of a tree in the garden of a house. The crown had been removed and what was left I though was perfect. Not only was there a large triangle in the centre of the shot but there were two further smaller triangles at the end of the two main branches.

I think that the triangles really stand out against the blue sky.

Nikon D3s f5.6 iso 200, 1/200

Rhythm

I was looking for ages to get the right image for this section of the assignment. I just didn’t want to get a picture of a set of fence posts. I found this bench at the end of Brockham High Street.

Ninth Image

Nikon D3s f16, iso 200 1/2

I think that the notes on the back of the bench do make your eye move through the picture. I took it at an angle to move you further into the image. I hope that Mr Taylor likes this image; I thought that It was a great find. Pattern.

The last image I had to look for had to include a pattern. I took some shots of buildings and windows but I settled for an image of a display of mugs.

Tenth Image

Nikon D3s f9, iso 200 1/60

I zoomed in close to the mugs so that the frame could not be seen. The mugs were on sale in a kitchen shop. The owner was happy for me to take the picture. I think that you could think that the mugs fill the whole wall of the shop, even though this was not the case.

Well these are my images for my second assignment.

What have I learnt for the exercises that I have undertaken over the last few months.

• Always have a camera with you.

• Always have it switched on!!!

• Take images as you go, don’t just look for the current subjects, try to build up a library of images.

• There is plenty of help on the OCA blogs where you can get advice from other students.

• Get a friend to look at the images, they give you great advice and will tell you that what you have taken/used is poor or great.

Well I’m now a few months into my course and I’m still enjoying it- that has to be a good thing!!.